The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presbyterian in government.
Presbyterians trace their history to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The Presbyterian heritage, and much of its theology, began with the French theologian and lawyer John Calvin (1509–64), whose writings solidified much of the Reformed thinking that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of Huldrych Zwingli. From Calvin's headquarters in Geneva, the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe. John Knox, a former Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland and led the Scottish Reformation of 1560. As a result, the Church of Scotland embraced Reformed theology and presbyterian polity. Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought Presbyterianism to America as early as 1640, and immigration would remain a large source of growth throughout the colonial era. Another source of growth were a number of New England Puritans who left the Congregational churches because they preferred presbyterian polity. In 1706, seven ministers led by Francis Makemie established the first American presbytery at Philadelphia, which was followed by the creation of the Synod of Philadelphia in 1717.
The PCA has its roots in theological controversies over liberalism in Christianity and neo-orthodoxy that had been a point of contention in the Presbyterian Church in the United States which had split from the mainline Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A along regional lines at the beginning of the Civil War. While the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy had led to a split in the PC-USA in the mid-1930s, leading to the formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Bible Presbyterian Church, the PCUS remained intact. However, beginning in 1942, as the PCUS began to experiment with confessional revision, and later, when neo-orthodoxy and liberalism began to become influential in the PCUS' seminaries, and attempts were made to merge with the more liberal PC-USA and its successor, the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., renewal groups began to be formed, including the Presbyterian Churchmen United, which had been formed by more than 500 ministers and ran 3/4-page statements of their beliefs in 30 newspapers,[5] the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship, conducted revivals in PCUS churches, the Concerned Presbyterians, and the Presbyterian Churchmen United (PCU), an organization of conservative pastors in the Southern Presbyterian Church.[6] They sought to reaffirm the Westminster Confession of Faith as the fullest and clearest exposition of biblical faith, which many conservatives felt that presbyteries had been violating by receiving ministers who refused to affirm the virgin birth and bodily resurrection, and to expect all pastors and leaders to affirm the inerrancy of scripture. Opponents of the merger took specific issue with the United Presbyterian Church's adherence to the Auburn Affirmation and the Confession of 1967; the Southern Presbyterian denomination rejected the adoption of these confessions as official standards, noting amorphous biblical doctrine, lax sexual ethic, and conversations with other church bodies that rejected the Reformed faith, such as those explored by the Consultation on Church Union.[7]
It remains controversial as to whether racial tensions may have contributed to the formation of the PCA. Many in the PCA have adamantly maintained that race played little role in the genesis of the new denomination, but many outside the PCA have a historical memory of racial animus irrefutably contributing to the desire for exodus from the Southern Presbyterian denomination, the PCUS.[8] However, on June 23, 2016, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America voted to approve a statement on racial reconciliation that specifically recognized "corporate and historical sins, including those committed during the Civil Rights era, and continuing racial sins of ourselves and our fathers such as the segregation of worshipers by race; the exclusion of persons from Church membership on the basis of race; the exclusion of churches, or elders, from membership in the Presbyteries on the basis of race; the teaching that the Bible sanctions racial segregation and discourages inter-racial marriage; the participation in and defense of white supremacist organizations; and the failure to live out the gospel imperative that ‘love does no wrong to a neighbor’ (Romans 13:10)."[9] This admission of "historical sins" during the Civil Rights era has helped to ameliorate the conflict that some black members of the PCA may have felt about the denomination's failure to fully embrace and protect the rights of African Americans both within and outside of the church during the PCA's formative years.[10]
Conservatives also felt the church should disavow the ordination of women.[11][12] They also criticized the PCUS Board of Christian Education's published literature and believed that the denomination's Board of World Missions no longer placed its primary emphasis on carrying out the Great Commission.[13] In 1966, conservatives within the PCUS, concerned about the denominational seminaries founded Reformed Theological Seminary.
Finally, when word came out that a planned Plan of Union between the UPCUSA and PCUS lacked an "escape clause" which would have allowed for PCUS congregations that wanted no part in the planned union to leave without forfeiture of property, the steering committee of several of the renewal groups called for conservative PCUS congregations to leave.
In December 1973, delegates, representing some 260 congregations with a combined communicant membership of over 41,000 that had left the PCUS, gathered at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and organized the National Presbyterian Church, which later became the Presbyterian Church in America.[14][15]
After protests from a UPCUSA congregation of the same name in Washington, D.C., the denomination at its Second General Assembly (1974) renamed itself the National Reformed Presbyterian Church, then adopted its present name the next day. At its founding, the PCA consisted of 16 presbyteries.[16]
Within a few years the church grew to include more than 500 congregations and 80,000 members.
Growth
Kenyon Case – PCA growth in the Mid-Atlantic (1975)
During the 1970s, the denomination added a significant number of congregations outside the South when several UPCUSA churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania joined. This move was precipitated by a case regarding an ordination candidate, Wynn Kenyon, denied by the Pittsburgh Presbytery because he refused to support women's ordination (a decision upheld by the UPCUSA General Assembly). The seceder churches formed the Ascension Presbytery, officially organised on July 29, 1975. That year, a minister of that presbytery described its history as follows:
Walter Kenyon was an honors graduate of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. ... Mr. Kenyon ... stated that he could not in good conscience participate in the ordination of a woman. He said that it was his understanding of Scripture that prevented such involvement, but went on to say that he would not stand in the way of such an ordination, if such was the desire of a church which he would happen to serve. Immediately there arose much dissent, and such dissent grew until the overwhelming majority of the church endorsed the judicial verdict which banned Kenyon and all future Kenyons from the pulpits of the UPCUSA. Furthermore, there was both explicit and implicit action which was taken against those men already ordained.
The Rev. Arthur C. Broadwick (and the Union United Presbyterian Church USA of Pittsburgh) and the Rev. Carl W. Bogue Jr. (and the Allenside UPCUSA of Akron, OH) were already involved in litigations which involved this issue. ... When the Permanent Judicial Commission of the UPCUSA ruled that Mr. Kenyon could not be ordained it effectively elevated this doctrine concerning social relationships to the place of being a major doctrine of the church. ...
Such action by the Permanent Judicial Commission led to a crisis for all of those pastors and elders who held to the traditional views on this question and who were now considered heretics. Accordingly, to uphold the peace, unity and purity of the church, most of the men who made up the membership of the charter presbytery peaceably withdrew from the UPCUSA. ...
A fitting conclusion to this description of the genesis of the Presbytery of the Ascension is the mention of the Presbytery's new affiliation, the Presbyterian Church in America. In the Fall of 1974, men who were affected by the drift of the Kenyon Case, sent four representatives, from an informal committee which was considering alternatives to the UPCUSA (i.e., in case that body should make a ruling against Mr. Kenyon which would affect the church as a whole), to the second General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (which became the Presbyterian Church in America). These four pastors were the Rev. A.C. Broadwick, the Rev. K.E. Perrin, the Rev. R.E. Knodel Jr., and the Rev. W.L. Thompson, on behalf of the larger concerned group, seeking a historically Reformed body which was also evangelical and mission minded. While this small entourage went to Macon, Georgia with many suspicions and questions, they returned overjoyed that there was an option such as the Presbyterian Church in America.
Adopted from Reformationanglicanism.blogspot July 29, 1975 A.D. Ascension Presbytery (PCA) Officially Formed
For example, seceders from Union UPCUSA formed Providence Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh under the leadership of Broadwick.[18]
PCA expands in the Midwest
Dozens of churches from the Midwest became part of the Presbyterian Church in America after leaving the Synod of the West of the PC(USA), formerly called the United Presbyterian Church in the USA. This became the Siouxlands Presbytery composed of only South Dakota, but in 1982 the Joining and Receiving took place with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, boundaries were expanded to cover Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.[19]
In the state of Michigan, dissenting Christian Reformed and RCA church members formed Covenant Presbyterian Church in Holland, MI in 1996 under the leadership of Tom Vanden Heuvel, former pastor of First Christian Reformed Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan), who claimed that the Christian Reformed Church(CRC) departed from its original commitment to the clarity and authority of Scripture. At that time, another CRC church joined the PCA in Texas, as well as in New York, the Monsey Christian Church.[20]
Departures from the PCUS (1973–1990)
Dissenting conservative Southern Presbyterian Churches joined the PCA until the early 1990s.[21][22] Early PCA growth was largely through secessions from the Southern Presbyterian Church (PCUS), which from 1983 to 1990 allowed churches to leave with their property. About 110 to 120 churches did come in during that period of time to the PCA with their properties, allowed by various PC(USA) Presbyteries. Since that time, PCA growth has been largely through church planting and local congregational outreach rather than by transfers of entire churches from other denominations. PC(USA) ministers are now required to agree with the ordination of women, which the PCA opposes. However, since 1996 about 23 PC(USA) congregations have joined the PCA.[23] As of the 2014 PC(USA) General assembly, most churches withdrawing from the PC(USA) are joining the Evangelical Presbyterian Church or the newly formed ECO due to their acceptance of women ministers, though since then many conservative PC(USA) groups and even whole congregations have affiliated with the PCA.[24]
Merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (1982)
The PCA had originally invited three denominations to the merger, including the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA).[26] The OPC voted to accept the invitation to join the PCA, but the PCA voted against receiving them. The PCA presbyteries did not approve the application by the required three-quarters majority, and so the proposed invitation process was terminated without the OPC presbyteries voting on the issue.[27] The RPCES was the only church to carry through with the merger. The merger was called "Joining and Receiving." When a sufficient number of RPCES and PCA presbyteries voted in favor of the plan, the final votes occurred at the respective annual meetings, both held in Grand Rapids, Michigan: the RPCES Synod voted to join the PCA on June 12, 1982, and the PCA General Assembly voted to receive the RPCES on June 14. The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod agencies and committees were united with their PCA counterparts. The history and historical documents of the RPCES were incorporated into the PCA. Graduates from Covenant College and Seminary were also officially recognized.[27] The move reflected a rare phenomenon in American Protestantism of two conservative denominations merging, an occurrence that was far more common among mainline, moderate-to-liberal bodies in the 20th century (such as the UPCUSA/PCUS reunion). In 1982 the RPCES had 25,718 communicant members in 187 congregations served by 400 pastors. The PCA had 519 churches, 91,060 communicant members, and 480 pastors. After the merger the PCA membership was 706 churches, 116,788 communicant members, and 1,276 teaching elders.[28]
In 1986 the PCA again invited the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to join them, but without success. Not everyone agreed with the decision. In the four years after 1986, there was a voluntary realignment as congregations left the OPC for the PCA, mainly from California, Montana and Pennsylvania, but also from as far as Alaska.[29] By the 1970s, the OPC had grown a new ‘pietist/revivalist’ wing under the influence of Jack Miller. According to Tim Keller, the New Life Churches and their Sonship course represented classic revivalism, and it did not fit well with the more doctrinalist cast of the OPC. The New Life Churches were made to feel unwelcome and nearly all left in the early 1990s to swell the pietist ranks of the PCA.[30]
In 1983 several PCUS churches had joined the PCA, instead of merging with the UPCUSA into the current PC (U.S.A.); others joined the recently formed Evangelical Presbyterian Church, unrelated to the 1950s and 1960s body of that name. A clause in the Plan of Union between the two mainline bodies allowed dissenting PCUS congregations to refrain from joining the merger and to join a denomination of their choosing.
At the 20th anniversary of the PCA in 1993 there were 1,086 congregations and 242,560 members.[31]
The PCA Historical Center, a repository of archives and manuscripts, is located in St. Louis, Missouri.
The PCA is one of the denominations in the United States, with some 1,700 churches and missions throughout the US and Canada. There were some 335,000 communicant and non-communicant members as of December 2000.[15]
In 2004 the former PC(USA) member First Presbyterian Church in Charleston, MS voted to join the PCA rather than the EPC, which allows women as church officers.[32] Hospers Presbyterian Church in Hospers, Iowa was also PC(USA), joined the PCA in November 2006. Park Cities Presbyterian Church was formed when about 1,500–2,000 former Highland Park Presbyterian Church (Dallas, Texas) member separated from the PC(USA) and joined PCA. In 2013 and 2014 a few disappointed conservative PC(USA) congregations from New York state[33] and from the Presbytery of Sheppards & Lapsley (Unity Presbyterian in Weogufka, AL, and Southwood Presbyterian in Talladega, AL) in the state of Alabama and Smyrna Korean Presbyterian Church in Enterprise, AL[34] joined the Presbyterian Church in America instead of ECO or EPC, which have women ministers.[35][36][37] Several PC(USA) breakaway groups like New Covenant Presbyterian Church in McComb, MS which broke from J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian Church in 2007,[38][39][40] and First Scot's Presbyterian Church, PCA in Beaufort, South Carolina (formerly First Scots Independent Presbyterian Church) voted to affiliate with the PCA.[41][42] As well as several independent Anglo and till now unaffiliated Korean Presbyterian churches like Greater Springfield Korean Church in Agawam, Massachusetts.[43][44] According to the PC(USA) statistics 7 PC(USA) congregations with 550 members joined PCA, excluded the seceder groups since 2005.[45]
Each of the churches was allowed to withdraw with their respective properties and assets after paying a varying settlement fee to the Illiana-Florida Classis. But if a church should withdraw from the PCA within five years of the approval of the agreement, then the property is to revert to the Classis of Illiana-Florida.[55] the University Reformed Church was also granted dismissal by the RCA Classis on March 21, 2015.[56]
Kevin DeYoung the pastor of University Reformed Church summarized the reasons of withdrawing from the Reformed Church in America[57] and affiliate with the PCA:
Let me simply say at this point that our reason for seeking to leave the RCA is not one thing, but many things. From the adoption of the Belhar Confession, to the removal of the conscience clauses related to women’s ordination, to the growing acceptance of homosexual practice in the denomination, we believe the RCA has changed significantly in the last several years. The denomination has moved away from churches like ours. Our request is that we may be able to move too.[58][59]
The PCA includes representation from all the historic Calvinist branches of Presbyterianism. The PCA's founding churches came out of the Southern Presbyterian church, which included revivalists, Old Siders, classic ‘Princeton’ Old Schoolers, conservative New Schoolers, and others. In 1982, the PCA merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, which itself was the product of a union between the ‘New Light’ (New Side) Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod, and parts of the Bible Presbyterian church (the pietistic New School). In addition, many evangelical congregations that had lived within the mainline Presbyterian churches, both north and south, left as individual churches and joined the PCA. In short, the PCA has been formed with churches and leaders from many different branches—Old School, Old Side, New School.[30]
A Synopsis of the Beliefs of the Presbyterian Church in America
The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
There is one God, eternal and self-existing in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who are to be equally loved, honored, and adored.
All mankind participated in Adam's fall from his original sinless state and is thus lost in sin and totally helpless.
The Sovereign God, for no other reason than His own unfathomable love and mercy, has chosen lost sinners from every nation to be redeemed by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit and through the atoning death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.
Those sinners whom the Spirit quickens, come to believe in Christ as Savior by the Word of God, are born again, become sons of God, and will persevere to the end.
Justification is by faith and through it the undeserving sinner is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
The goal of God's salvation in the life of the Christian is holiness, good works, and service for the glory of God.
At death the Christian's soul passes immediately into the presence of God and the unbeliever's soul is eternally separated from God unto condemnation.
Baptism is a sign of God's covenant and is properly administered to children of believers in their infancy as well as to those who come as adults to trust in Christ.
Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and bodily, at a time when He is not expected, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.
The Gospel of God's salvation in Jesus Christ must be published to all the world as a witness before Jesus Christ returns.[60]
Confessions
The Presbyterian Church in America motto is "Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed faith, Obedient to the great commission of Jesus Christ." The PCA professes adherence to the historic confessional standards of Presbyterianism: the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and the Westminster Larger Catechism. These secondary documents are viewed as subordinate to the Bible,[61] which alone is viewed as the inspired Word of God.[62][63]
As might be expected given Presbyterianism's historically high esteem for education, the PCA has generally valued academic exploration more highly than revivalist traditions of evangelicalism. Apologetics in general and presuppositional apologetics has been a defining feature with many of its theologians and higher-ranking clergy, and many also practice "cultural apologetics" by engaging with and participating in secular cultural activities such as film, music, literature, and art to win them for Christ.
Additionally, the PCA emphasizes ministries of mercy such as outreach to the poor, the elderly, orphans, Native Americans, people with physical and mental disabilities, refugees, etc. As a result, the denomination has held several national conferences to help equip members to participate in this type of work, and several PCA affiliates such as Desire Street Ministries, New City Fellowship, and New Song Fellowship have received national attention for their service to the community at large.
Life issues
The PCA is anti-abortion and opposes euthanasia, according to the official statement adopted at the 16th General Assembly in 1988: "Euthanasia, or "mercy-killing" of a patient by a physician or by anyone else, including the patient himself (suicide) is murder. To withhold or to withdraw medical treatment, as is being discussed here, does not constitute euthanasia and should not be placed into the same category with it."[64]
Marriage
The PCA is against divorce, except in cases of adultery or abandonment (desertion).[65][66]
The PCA takes the following position on homosexuality: "Homosexual practice is sin. The Bible teaches that all particular sins flow from our rebellious disposition of heart. Just as with any other sin, the PCA deals with people in a pastoral way, seeking to transform their lifestyle through the power of the gospel as applied by the Holy Spirit. Hence, in condemning homosexual practice we claim no self-righteousness, but recognize that any and all sin is equally heinous in the sight of a holy God."[67] The PCA officially opposes same-sex marriage. However, according to the Pew Forum study conducted in 2014, about 50% of the members believe that homosexuality should be accepted and 40% same-sex marriage.[68] Roy Taylor, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PCA, has said that the PCA "believes that, from creation, God ordained the marriage covenant to be a bond between one man and one woman" and that "divinely sanctioned standard for sexual activity is fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman or chastity outside of such a marriage. Throughout history, there has often been a conflict between the unchanging standards of biblical ethics that the Church seeks to maintain and the changing social practices of the culture."[69][70] In 2020, the PCA's Committee Report on Human Sexuality concluded that it is generally unwise for Christians to identify themselves as gay Christian even if they abstain from homosexual activities due to homoerotic desires being sinful in nature.[71] Furthermore, the PCA officially affirmed the Nashville Statement[72] at their annual General Assembly in 2019.
However, the denomination has had mixed statements concerning the ordination of celibate or non-practicing gay men. A 1977 statement of the General Assembly had restricted from ministry only "practicing homosexuals"—as opposed to non-practicing.[73] That precedent has since been called into question. Between 2018 and 2021, denominational conservatives lobbied for a series of investigations and a judicial case against celibate PCA pastor Greg Johnson on account of his 2019 admission in Christianity Today that, as a gay atheist who converted to Christianity in college, his sexual orientation had nevertheless never changed.[74] Critics sought Johnson's removal for identifying as a gay or same-sex attracted man and for arguing against Sexual orientation change efforts as ineffective. Johnson requested investigation by his regional presbytery, which exonerated him in 2019 and again in 2020.[75] In 2020, Johnson's exoneration was appealed to the denomination's Standing Judicial Commission.[76] On October 22, 2021, that denominational court ruled in Johnson's favor by a vote of 16 to 7.[77] While Johnson has stated that he has never been sexually active,[74] significant opposition to Johnson's openness about his sexual orientation led the denomination's General Assembly in 2021 to propose changes to its constitution to prevent other celibate nonstraight people from ordination to ministry in the PCA.[78]
In 2014, in response to media confusion between the PCA and the PCUSA, the stated clerk's office issued the following:[79]
There are several Presbyterian denominations in America. Sometimes people mistakenly attribute the views or actions of one Presbyterian denomination to another. The "Presbyterian Church in America" (PCA) is an evangelical denomination in the Reformed theological tradition. The PCA, like other Evangelical, Conservative, Orthodox, and Traditional Christians from many denominations, believes that, from creation, God ordained the marriage covenant to be a bond between one man and one woman, and that understanding is what the Church has always believed, taught, and confessed. Therefore, we believe that the divinely sanctioned standard for sexual activity is fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman or chastity outside of such a marriage. Throughout history, there has often been a conflict between the unchanging standards of biblical ethics that the Church seeks to maintain and the changing social practices of the culture. The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has not redefined marriage nor does it intend to do so.
—L. Roy Taylor, Stated Clerk, General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America
Social and theological differences with the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Conservative, Calvinistic, and Covenantal, but Reformed orthodoxy can vary from presbytery to presbytery, and even individual churches can be differ, some are orthodox Reformed and some more broadly Evangelical, but all of them must subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Book of Church Order of the PCA
Mainline, between moderate to progressive. Evangelical wing is also present.
Affiliated Seminaries
One official Theological Seminary, the Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Many candidates for ordained pastoral ministry are drawn from Reformed Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary, Westminster Seminary California, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Official Seminaries are Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary, Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, McCormick Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, San Francisco Theological Seminary (disputed), Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina, and University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.
Ordination
Only ordains men in "obedience to the New Testament standard for those who rule the church and teach doctrine." Ministers, ruling elders, and deacons in the PCA are men only, in obedience to the New Testament standard for those who rule the church and teach doctrine, though women have a wide range of use for their gifts in our churches"
Both straight or practicing gay men and women are ordained pastors or elders.
Inerrancy
Scripture is inerrant and infallible in all that it teaches. Creationism is the doctrine held and confessed by most PCA pastors.
Inerrancy is generally not accepted. Generally follow Barthian view of Scripture. That is, even though the Bible is fallible, the Scripture either can contain God's word or can become God's word by personal investigation or application. Therefore, higher criticism of text is considered a valuable tool. In the PCUSA, evolution is widely believed in.
Church property
Church property belongs to the local congregation without any right of reversion whatsoever to any Presbytery or General Assembly, all giving to the administration and permanent committees of the PCA is voluntary
Church property is held in trust by the Presbytery for the benefit of the denomination.
Abortion
"Abortion would terminate the life of an individual, a bearer of God's image, who is being divinely formed and prepared for a God-given role in the world." The 14th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, reaffirms our church's pro-life and anti-abortion stand, and that we communicate our position to the President of the United States, the Supreme Court, and the United States Congress; further, that we encourage our pastors and sessions to emphasize this position of our church in the congregations and communities in which they serve.[80]
Morally "acceptable" though it "ought to be an option of last resort." All abortions imply some sort of tragedy.
Homosexuality
Homosexual practice is sin. PCA believes that God's intent in creation was that male and female would be complementary, that the privilege of sexual expression would be between male and female only, and this expression would be only in the context of marriage. Both heterosexual and homosexual sexual behavior outside of marriage violates the human spirit and distorts God's intent for men and women. In light of the biblical view of its sinfulness, a practicing homosexual continuing in this sin would not be a fit candidate for ordination or membership in the Presbyterian Church in America.[70] The PCA also affirmed an overture (proposal) during their 2021 General Assembly that "Prohibits Ordination for Men Who Self-Identify as ‘Gay Christians,’ ‘Same-sex Attracted Christians,’ ‘Homosexual Christians,’or Like Terms”.[81] However, this proposal failed to receive the support of 2/3 of presbyeries, and therefore did not proceed.[82]
There is a great diversity of opinion regarding homosexuality in the PCUSA. In 2010, the General Assembly expressed that "The PCUSA has no consensus in the interpretation of Scripture on issues of same-sex practice." Homosexuals are welcome as members. In 2014, the General Assembly amended the Book of Order to redefine marriage as between "two people" rather than between a man and a woman and allows ministers to perform any legal marriage between two people. Ministers or congregations who object to same-sex marriage will not be required to perform such ceremonies in states where such marriages are legal. The change was ratified by a majority of presbyteries on March 18, 2015. LGBTQIA+ individuals May be ordained to all offices of the church.[83]
Divorce
The PCA teaches that divorce is a sin except in cases of adultery or desertion
In 1952 the PCUSA General Assembly moved to amend sections of the Westminster Confession, eliminating "innocent parties" language, broadening the grounds to include no-fault divorce.[66] Divorce is regrettable and not to be done lightly.
Worship
The PCA believes that all of the worship should be directed only by the Bible[84] Both traditional and contemporary forms of worship are practiced as long as they conform to the Scripture.
The PCUSA states that worship should be "traditional", in that it has a grounding in the Bible and the practices of the ancient church, "contemporary", in that it addresses societal concerns and "blended", in that it incorporates customs, culture and tradition from a variety of sources. Congregations have considerable freedom to worship in ways meaningful to them.[85]
The PCA is more socially and theologically conservative than the PC(USA). The PCA requires ordained pastors and elders to subscribe to the theological doctrines detailed in the Westminster Standards, with only minor exceptions allowed, while the PC(USA)'s Book of Confessions allows much more leeway. The PCA ordains only men who profess traditional marriage, while the PC(USA) allows the ordination of both women and (in certain Presbyteries) non-celibate gays and lesbians as clergy.[86] Like the PC(USA), however, the PCA accommodates different views of creation.[87] The PCA strives for racial reconciliation.[88] The PCA is unilaterally anti-abortion, believing life begins at conception. Unlike the PC(USA), the PCA has no ecumenical relationship with organizations which accept denominations that they perceive to have strayed from orthodoxy, such as the World Council of Churches or World Communion of Reformed Churches. Due to problems related to church property when splitting from the PC(USA), in the PCA all church buildings belong to the local church, which gives the PCA a slightly more congregational church structure than most other Presbyterian structures.[89]
The PCA is generally less theologically conservative than the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC, founded in 1936), but more conservative than the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC, founded in 1981) and the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO, founded in 2012), though the differences can vary from presbytery to presbytery and even congregation to congregation. The PCA, as mentioned above, will not ordain women as teaching elders (pastors), ruling elders, or deacons, while the EPC considers this issue a "non-essential" matter left to the individual ordaining body, and ECO fully embraces women's ordination. However, there is an increasingly strong movement in the PCA to allow ordination of women as deacons including overtures in the General Assembly.[90] A number of PCA churches are known to have non-ordained women deacons and deaconesses.[91] The EPC is also more tolerant of the charismatic movement than the PCA. However, there is a strong New Calvinist movement in the PCA that practices contemporary music, adheres to a continuationist position on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and engages in civil dialogue with differing theological views.[92] This is not surprising since PCA has issued, from its inception, a pastoral letter to all the PCA churches to tolerate the charismatics within its ranks.[93]
The PCA has little doctrinal quarrel with the OPC. Both denominations have similar views on the Federal Vision, creation and justification. While most OPC congregations allow women only to teach children and other women in Sunday school, some moderate PCA congregations allow women to do anything a non-ordained man can do. While the OPC and the PCA both adhere to the Westminster Standards, the OPC is generally more strict in requiring its officers to subscribe to those standards without exception. It is hard to find any doctrinal differences between these two denominations. In recent years the OPC and PCA published substantial similar reports on the Creation Days, the debate about Justification and the issue of the Federal Vision. They have identical positions on social issues like women in combat, Freemasonry and abortion. The only divergence of any significance is the matter of charismatic gifts. The OPC maintains a strict cessationist position, while the PCA allows presbyteries to ordain non-cessationists if they do not believe that ongoing gifts are on par with Special Revelation. Many PCA churches have moved toward contemporary worship, while the OPC is dominated by traditional Reformed worship. The southern roots of the Presbyterian Church in America were tempered somewhat by the merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod and the northern roots of the OPC was also tempered by the influence of Van Til and Kuyper.[94] Nonetheless, the two denominations enjoy fraternal relations and cooperate in a number of ways, such as sharing control of a publication company, Great Commission Publications, which produces Sunday School curricula for both denominations.
Church government
This section may be too long and excessively detailed. Please consider summarizing the material.(March 2020)
Herbert, John Rogers, RA (c. 1844), The Assertion of Liberty of Conscience by the Independents at the Westminster Assembly of Divines (painting){{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
The PCA maintains the presbyterian church government set forth in its Book of Church Order. Local church officers include teaching elders, ruling elders and deacons. The BCO is based on the PCUS Book of Church Order declared it in force on May 19, 1879.[95] The distinction between pastors and elders in the PCA is a mixture of two traditions. The PCA holds to a quasi-parity of pastors and elders (named Ruling and Teaching Elders; REs and TEs for short), where Ruling and Teaching Elders have the same voting rights in the courts of the church and can participate in each other's examinations and ordinations,[96] yet there are certain and definite ways that TEs and REs are distinct. Pastors have deference as moderators of local church Sessions.[97] Only Pastors may administer the sacraments[98] and ordinarily only pastors may preach (REs must be licensed by a presbytery if they wish to preach regularly).[99] Also, REs are members of their local churches, while pastors are members of their presbyteries and not members of the local churches they serve.[100] While this 2.5 office view is the consensus of the PCA, many would hold to a more Northern three-office view and others would hold to a more Southern two-office view. Church government is exercised at three levels: the Session, which governs the local church; the Presbytery, a regional governing body, and the General Assembly, the highest court of the denomination.[101] The PCA is committed to a principle of voluntary association and all PCA congregations own their own property. Additionally all giving to the administration and permanent committees of the PCA is voluntary.[102] The PCA does not have Synods, which some other groups have either as the highest court or as an intermediate court between presbyteries and the general assembly.
In 1995, the PCA was described as one of the fastest-growing denominations in the United States, having experienced steady growth since its founding in 1973.[108] In 2009, the PCA reported "a net loss in members for the first time."[109] In 2016, the denomination reported growth over a five-year period.[110][111] From 2017 to 2021, the PCA reported having 374,736 in 2017, 384,793 in 2018, 383,721 in 2019, 383,721 in 2020, and 378,389 in 2021.[112]
As of December 31, 2011, the Presbyterian Church in America had 1,771 churches (includes established churches and new church plants) representing all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico[113] and 5 Canadian provinces. There were 351,406 communicant and non-communicant members.[114] The PCA has 83 presbyteries or regional governing bodies. The latest formed in January 2014.[115] In 2012 the PCA had 1,777 congregations – 1,474 particular and 303 mission churches – that means a net increase of 6, membership developed by 12,613 total of 364,019. The number of ordained PCA ministers are 4,321.[116][117][118]
The PCA had 384,793 members in 1,927 congregations served by 4,951 ordained ministers in 2017.[119][120][121]
Less than 50% of the PCA churches send statistical report, and the stated supply believes the membership of the PCA experienced modest growth.[122]
The PCA is one of the most diverse Protestant denominations in the US with about 20% non-white members.[123]
More than 250 churches of the denomination are ethnic Korean churches with 9 non-geographical Korean language presbyteries, which is about 15% of the total.[124][125]
The PCA has grown tenfold in thirty years. This was partly the result of the union with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod and the voluntary realignment of some Orthodox Presbyterian Churches.[126] For example, in Georgia the PCA has 14 congregations and 2,784 member in 1973, but in 2006 there were 93 congregations and 22,000 members. In 2015 there were about 150 congregations. This is more than tenfold growth of the denomination in the Peach State.[127]
The PCA is among the top 5 denominations that are most aggressive in church planting in North America.[128]
Adherents and population penetration
The greatest concentration is in the states of the Deep South, with more scattered strength in the Upper South, the upper Ohio Valley, and the Southwest. Two-thirds of PCA churches and members are found in the Southeast, and 25 churches are in the Metro Atlanta area.[129]
The state of Florida has the most PCA churches with more than 160 congregations, but Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas in the South and Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia on the East Coast remain strongholds for the denomination. In the five southeastern US States (Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia) the PCA had 742 congregations, making up more than one third of the total 1,771 churches.[130] Mississippi has the highest percentage of adherents per 1,000 people, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, and Georgia.[131] Numerous mega churches can be found in the American South and East as well as in Illinois, but the largest and the second largest churches in the denomination are Korean churches. A Korean congregation, Sarang Community Church of Southern California in Anaheim, CA, is the biggest congregation in the denomination with as many as 11,000 members.[132]
In Canada
Grace Toronto PCA owns the historic St. Andrews Church
When the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod merged with the PCA, Canadian congregations entered the union. Since the merger, other congregations have been added through evangelism. Canadian churches report that "secularism and unbelief provide an opportunity to evangelism".[133] There are more than 22 congregations in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.[132]
Outside North America
The PCA has a presbytery in Chile with more than five congregations and missions.[134]
The Potomac Presbytery proposed to elect a provisional presbytery in the Latin American county of Paraguay with 4–5 congregations and church plants in Asunción and the nearby cities. The Presbytery worked in the country for 15–20 years. The goal is to establish a National Presbyterian Church in Paraguay.[135]
Demographics
Korean churches
The membership of the PCA is predominantly Caucasian (80%), but the denomination includes more than 260 Korean-American Churches in 9 Korean Presbyteries.[136] The first Korean Presbytery was formed in 1982; since then the number of presbyteries has grown to 9, namely the Korean Capital Presbytery, the Korean Central Presbytery, the Korean Eastern Presbytery, the Korean Northeastern Presbytery, the Korean Northwest Presbytery, the Korean Southeastern Presbytery, the Korean Southern Presbytery and the Korean Southwest Presbytery, and the recently formed Korean Southwest Orange County Presbytery.[115][137][138]
Koreans comprise approximately 15% of the denomination, and the majority of them are located in the West coast and Northeast regions. In recent years several independent Korean congregations have joined the PCA to be a part of a conservative Presbyterian denomination.[125] The largest PCA church is a Korean church located in Anaheim, CA called Sarang Community Church of Southern California and the second largest, Korean Central Presbyterian Church in Centreville, Virginia. All the Korean churches in the PCA appoint non-ordained deaconesses and women encouragers (Kwonsa) who are elected and installed so that women can care for other women in the church. Such has been the practice of all Korean Presbyterian churches since its inception which is practiced across denominational boundaries.
Approximately 15 Brazilian or Portuguese-speaking congregations was affiliated with the denomination in 2011, mainly in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Georgia, New Jersey and Florida.[146]
Others
Several multi-ethnic African American, Haitian, Japanese, Nepali, Albanian, Indian, Sudanese, Indonesian Russian ethnic churches belong to the Presbyterian Church in America and the denomination begun to build relationship with the First Nations/Native American groups in the United States and Canada.[147]
Additionally, the denomination has its own agency for sending missionaries around the world (Mission to the World)(MTW). Through Mission to the World well over 600 foreign missionaries are working in about 60 nations. Mission to North America serves PCA churches and presbyteries through the development of evangelism and church planting in Canada and the USA. An average of 3 new churches are planted in a month in the 2 nations and currently has more than 300 mission churches in the United States alone. More than 40% of all congregations are less than 25 years old, due to church planting.[108] The PCA puts into the field the world's largest Presbyterian mission force after that of the Global Missions Society of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) with over 2,500 missionaries.[89][148]
The PCA church planters must raise their own support and the denomination turned to the use of church planting networks of like-minded churches to found church planters. The PCA frequently use the evangelist model of starting a new church where the evangelist under the oversight of the Presbyteries home missions committee has the power of the sessions in his own person. The PCA supports one foreign missionary for every three congregations.[149]
Further, there are more than 100 chaplains in the military, hospitals, prisons and 45 college and university campus ministers. The church has high emphasis on education.[150]
Educational and Theological institutions
The PCA has its own ministry to students on college campuses, the Reformed University Fellowship, its own camp and conference center, the Ridge Haven Conference and Retreat Center[151] (Ridge Haven in Brevard, North Carolina), and its own liberal arts college (Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, near Chattanooga, Tennessee) and seminary (Covenant Theological Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri). Covenant Theological Seminary is a fully accredited theological institution that offers several academic degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry. The Seminary is home to the Francis Schaeffer Institute.[152] The PCA also publishes its own denominational magazine, byFaith.
The PCA Ministry Buildings in Lawrenceville is the location from which the ministries of the denomination are coordinated. These ministries are Mission to the World, Mission to North America, Christian Education and Publications, Administrative Committee and Reformed University Fellowship (RUF).[154]
The Presbyterian Church in America enjoys fraternal relations with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In 2008 the Presbyterian Church of Brazil[159] and the Presbyterian Church in America entered into full fraternal relationship with each other.[160][161] The National Presbyterian Church in Mexico and the PCA also work together in missions and evangelizing. In 2012 at the PCA 41st General Assembly the Presbyterian Church in America and the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico entered into an assembly level ecclesiastical relationship.[162] In 1994 The Fellowship of Reformed Churches was formed and was a product of the dialogue between the PCA, the Presbyterian Church in Brazil[163] and the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico. They decided to invite other Latin American Reformed Churches to join the Fellowship.[164]
Presbyterianism is a Reformed (Calvinist) Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders. Though there are other Reformed churches that are structurally similar, the word Presbyterian is applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that formed during the English Civil War.
The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and members of the LGBT community as elders and ministers. The Presbyterian Church (USA) was established with the 1983 merger of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state.
The Presbyterian Church in the United States was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That year, it merged with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) to form the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958, to 1983. It was formed by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), often referred to as the "Northern" Presbyterian Church, with the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA), a smaller church of Covenanter-Seceder tradition at a conference in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in May 1958. Vigorous ecumenical activity on the part of PCUSA leaders led to this merger, something of a reunion of two long-separated branches of the larger Presbyterian family deriving from the British Isles.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), who objected to the rise of Liberal and Modernist theology in the 1930s. The OPC is considered to have had an influence on evangelicalism far beyond its size.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology. It is a conservative Calvinist denomination. It is most distinctive for its approach to the way it balances certain liberties across congregations on "non-essential" doctrines, such as egalitarianism /complementarianism in marriage or the ordination of women, alongside an affirmation of core "essential" doctrinal standards.
Jennings Ligon Duncan III is an American Presbyterian scholar and pastor. He is Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod was a Reformed and Presbyterian denomination in the United States and Canada between 1965 and 1982.
Tenth Presbyterian Church is a congregation of approximately 1,600 members located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Tenth is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a denomination in the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition. It is located at the southwest corner of 17th & Spruce Streets in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, in the southwestern quadrant of Center City.
Attitudes in Presbyterianism toward homosexuality vary, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance.
The Presbyterian Church of Brazil is an Evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in Brazil. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, having an estimate 702,949 members, 4,915 ordained ministers and 5,420 churches and parishes. It is also the only Presbyterian denomination in Brazil present in all 26 States and the Federal District.
The Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad, formerly known as the Korean Presbyterian Church in America, is an independent Presbyterian denomination in the United States. It was founded in 1976 as a union of 3 Korean language Presbyteries. The mother church was the Presbyterian Church in Korea (TongHap). The church has close relationship with the PC(USA) and the Korean Christian Church in Japan. In 2004 it had 29,000 members and 263 congregations. According to the recent statistics it has 55,000 members and 302 congregations. Official languages are English and Korean. The church uses the Westminster Confession and the Apostles Creed. Since 2010 it formed an English speaking presbytery. KPCA is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. It is also a member of the interdenominational associations National Council of Churches and Christian Churches Together.
ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. It was established in 2012 by former congregations and members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA). Denominational disputes over theology—particularly ordination of practicing homosexuals as pastors and gay marriage—and bureaucracy led to the founding of ECO. In 2018, ECO has over 383 congregations, 103,425 covenant partners and over 500 pastors. ECO churches are egalitarian in beliefs and ordain women as pastors and elders.
The Presbyterian Church of the Philippines (PCP), officially The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines, is a growing evangelical, Bible-based Reformed church in the Philippines. It was officially founded by in 1986 and the General Assembly was organized in September 1996.
Presbyterian Church in Uganda is a conservative Reformed Calvinistic denomination in Uganda with almost 100 churches in 5 presbyteries in the late 2000s.
The Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church (AEPC) is a growing conservative Presbyterian and Reformed Church which adheres to the Westminster Confession of Faith started in Kenya, later spread to the surrounding countries like Burundi, Tanzania, Congo and as far as Zimbabwe. The headquarters of the church is located in Nairobi, Kenya. The current Moderator is Rev. Dr Joseph Mutei installed on Sunday 26th June 2022.
The Reformed Church in Japan is a confessional Calvinist denomination in Japan. It was formerly a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, but it chose to suspend its membership.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was officially established in 1971 when the First Presbytery was formed as a result of the union of various conservative Presbyterian and Continental Reformed congregations planted by various missionary groups. Its origin could be traced back to the 1950s when the very first missionaries of those Presbyterian and Continental Reformed missionaries arrived in Taiwan.
Presbyterianism has had a presence in the United States since colonial times and has exerted an important influence over broader American religion and culture.
↑ Overture 11, General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, 1977. “In light of its sinfulness, a practicing homosexual continuing in this sin would not be a fit candidate for ordination or membership in the Presbyterian Church in America.”
Loetscher, Lefferts A., The Broadening Church: A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1954.
Smith, Morton H.How is the Gold Become Dim. Jackson, MS: Premier Printing Company, 1973.
Smartt, Kennedy. I Am Reminded. Chestnut Mountain, GA: n.p., n.d.
Nutt Rick. "The Tie That No Longer Binds: The Origins of the Presbyterian Church in America." In The Confessional Mosaic: Presbyterians and Twentieth-Century Theology. Edited by Milton J. Coalter, John M. Mulder, and Louis B. Weeks, 236–56. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1990. ISBN0-664-25151-X
North, Gary. Crossed Fingers: How the Liberals Captured the Presbyterian Church. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1996. ISBN0-930464-74-5
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Confessions: Study Edition. Louisville, KY.: Geneva Press, c1999. ISBN0-664-50012-9
Settle, Paul. To God All Praise and Glory: 1973 to 1998 – The First 25 Years. Atlanta, GA: PCA Administrative Committee, 1998. ISBN0-934688-90-7
Smith, Frank Joseph. The History of the Presbyterian Church in America. Presbyterian Scholars Press, 1999. ISBN0-9676991-0-X
Lucas, Sean Michael. On Being Presbyterian: Our Beliefs, Practices and Stories. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006. ISBN1-59638-019-5
Lucas, Sean Michael. For a Continuing Church: The Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2015. ISBN1629951064
↑ Although Presbyterianism itself originated in Scotland, those denominations stand out as having a more prominent Scottish heritage and/or connection with Scottish Presbyterian denominations.
↑ Those denominations allow member churches to be more diverse as regards the reformed tradition that they adhere to.
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